Have you ever wondered whether your glass is cut or etched? Sometimes it is hard to tell. And lots of glass for sale online with flower designs is listed as etched when it is really cut.

Cut Glass

A cut glass pattern like the miter design on this stem is easy. The lines are straight and V shaped.

Here's a design that is a little harder to tell. This is Trellis from Fostoria, a simple cut with stylized half flowers.

Fostoria Trellis (Old) Cut Sherbet

What lets us know these are cut is the V shape on the cuts. The miter cut stem has deep V shapes where the center of the cut is deeper than the edges. The flower petals on theTrellis stem are slightly scooped.

One thing that causes confusion with cut patterns like Trellis is that the cuts were left unpolished. See how the miter cut cocktail is shiny? The artisans fire polished the design after it was cut. That makes the cuts smooth and shiny. Unpolished designs like Trellis or Cynthia are called "gray cuttings".

Fostoria Holly combines gray and polished cuts. That must have been more time consuming to make. This candle holder is pretty neat, from Fostoria's Sonata line.

Another technique is called "cut to clear" as in this Egermann ruby cut to clear vase. I got this at an estate sale where the people had massive collections of fine crystal and china from America and Europe.

Although some cut patterns are elaborate, most often designs with a lot of intricate detail are etched. This Fostoria Navarre sherbet shows how complex an etched design can be. It would be nearly impossible to get the curves and thin lines with a cutting wheel.

Making etched glass is like stenciling a wall. Glass makers coat the surface with wax, then cut through the wax with a thin stylus. The etching solution will dissolve wherever the glass surface is not covered with wax. The result is the design has uniform depth.

It is possible to get multiple depths by uncovering more surface and applying the etching solution again. But even with that method the individual line will be the same depth at the edge as at the center.

The Fostoria Navarre stem is one of the more fancier designs. Here is a Fostoria Lido goblet. Is it cut or etched?

Lido is simple enough that it could be cut so we need to touch it to find out. The individual lines are all the same depth, so this is etched.

Have you noticed that all the etched designs are gray, not fire polished? That's because the etched lines are thin. Fire polishing always softens the edges just a bit, and if the artisans polished the etch it would lose detail. You can imagine how that would ruin a delicate design.

Tips to Tell Cut from Etched

Cut designs tend to use a lot of straight lines

Cuts will be V shaped, with the edges shallower than the centers. Some cut designs rely on many thin, parallel cut lines to fill in the flower or leaf shape

Etched line will be the same depth. Different motifs within an etched pattern could be different depths.

Cut patterns can be gray cut, left unpolished, or fire polished to make them shiny. Etched designs are not fire polished

Intricate patterns with a lot of detail are almost always etched. Cut designs can be complicated but don't look like they were drawn the way etched designs do.

Colored cut-to-clear is used for cut glass. I have not seen etched to clear.

Last but not least, just because someone calls a piece "etched" or "cut" use your judgment to decide how the design was made.

Tip! Measure Goblets

Tip: How to Measure Stemware

If you want a set of vintage stemware it's important you know how to measure stems and are aware of size changes over the past 50 years.

Originally wine goblets were small, much smaller than we use today, especially in restaurants or contemporary, trendy glass. Wine goblets in patterns from the vintage glass companies usually held two to five ounces.

This Fostoria June goblet, from the 1930s, is 5 1/2 inches tall and holds three ounces filled right to the brim. That's more the size we see today for cordials or after dinner drinks.

To measure stems, put the goblet on a flat table. Take a stiff ruler and measure vertically to the top of the rim. That's the height. Don't measure sideways from the foot to the rim.

The other key measurement is capacity. Vintage stemware, pitchers, creamers and such always give capacity measured by filling it right to the point of overflowing.

I find it is easiest to take my stem t the cupboard by the sink. I use a one ounce measuring cup and fill the measuring cup right to the brim and pour into the goblet. Then repeat until the goblet will not hold any more. (The hard part is keeping count and not losing track, but maybe you won't have that problem.)

The reason you want to measure full to the brim is that flared pieces, like goblets, will often take a surprising volume from the point where you would fill for use and when filled to the brim. It's too subjective to measure filled the way you would use it.

I have tried filling a stem with water and pouring into a measuring cup. This doesn't work for me at all as half the water ends up in the sink.

If you don't have a one ounce measuring cup, then use a regular liquid measurin cup to fill it most of the way, then use a tablespoon to fill the remainder. Remember a tablespoon is half an ounce.

Water goblets, like the Cambridge Rosalie shown above, are usually between 6 and 10 inches tall and hold somewhere around 10 ounces.

The other thing to be aware of is shape. Wine and water goblets look like goblets. The goblet bowl may be rounded but most often the bowl is taller than it is wide.

You might see sherbets mistakenly called wine goblets. Sherbets look like saucer champagnes or else have V shaped bowls like this Cambridge Chantilly tall sherbet.

Depression Glass Pattern Guide for Collectors and Glass Lovers

I love depression glass. I like to hold a piece and imagine how the first owners used it. Did they use it for their Sunday best dinners? For every day? Or put it on the shelf to sparkle in the sunshine? Depression glass is memories, captured in lovely patterns and colors.

Patterns we have in stock will link to our store. Shopping with us is like antiquing with your best friend.

Maker: Jeannette GlassDate Produced: 1932 to 1934Colors: Mostly pink and green with a few pieces of opaque Delphite blue, yellow and crystal.Many Adam pieces are square or square-ish. Plates are square while bowls, relish dishes, vases and candy dishes have wide square rims.Be careful to make sure there isn't damage. We're careful to check our glass when we list it for you.

Maker: Diamond Glassware Colors: Colors of the era. We've had pink and amber and it came in green, blue and iridescent colors. You won't find this pattern very often. If you like this you'll want to get pieces when they come available.

Block Optic is one of the patterns you are most likely to spot in antique malls. Hocking made quite a bit of it and it is still popular. The design is simple squares and the shapes and colors are classic Depression Glass styling. You can find so many pieces and colors that this is sure to be pleasing. Be sure to check our listings for Block Optic here and enjoy free fast shipping.

Cameo is another Hocking pattern with tons of pieces to choose, including stemware, tumblers, accessory pieces and a full dinner set. The pattern has a dancer draped in scarves, modeled after Isidore Duncan, in small cameos around the rim connected with swags and flowers.

This is the tall champagne sherbet. There are several sherbet sizes and shapes to choose - you will certainly find the perfect one you'll love.

This tablescape shows a few pieces of Cameo on an embroidered table cloth my Mom made. I love how this pattern looks on the table.

This is a gorgeous pattern, one of the prettiest depression glass and you won't go wrong with it. One of the best things about it is you can have just a few pieces, mix them in with your dinnerware and have a super conversation starter and a unique look.

Maker: MacBeth EvansDate Produced: Late 1930s into the 1940s Colors: MacBeth Evans made several variations of translucent creamy colored glass with different rim designs and decorations. The one shown is Cremax.

Maker: FederalDate Produced: 1938 to 1942 Colors: Clear with a few pieces in pink.

Federal made this interesting pattern in the last part of the depression era when styles were swinging back to more geometric motifs from the lovely mold etched designs. You can find our Columbia depression glass here.

Maker: JeannetteDate Produced: 1929 to 1933 Colors: Pink, green and a few pieces in clear.

Cube is one of the earliest depression glass patterns. It resembles Fostoria American or Indiana Whitehall, but you can easily tell them apart by the glass quality and piece shapes. Fostoria made very little pink or green American. Indiana made Whitehall in several non-depression colors.

This is a classic design that adds a lot of sparkle to your home. Imagine this little piece on your windowsill sparkling in the sun.

We recently purchased a big set of Doric & Pansy ultramarine depression glass. It's lovely. The teal color is rich and the design of pansies and squares is appealing and fun. We have so many unusual pieces that are hard to find like the butter dish. The salad plates sold immediately so don't delay shopping our selection!

Jeannette called this pattern Foral and collectors nicknamed it Poinsettia, thinking that's what the pattern is. The flowers look more like passion flowers and the leaves are definitely not poinsettia leaves! Remember that back in the depression era poinsettias were rather rare and special plants, not common like they are today.

Both the pink and green glass are very pretty. I especially like how the Floral pieces are finished. Jeannette did a great job with this pattern! Take a look at the rim on this bowl. The pattern is on the rim and the center has big flowers too. Wonderful.

Strictly speaking Floragold is not true depression glass because it was made in the 1950s, but collectors commonly consider it depression glass. The designs and piece shape are remeniscent of depression glass.

We specialize in Florentine here. The glass has poppies strewn all over it, giving the nickname "Poppy".

You'll find two different shapes in Florentine. Florentine #1 cups are rounded with round handles and scallops on the foot. Plates and bowls have a scalloped rim. The pink sugar bowl shown below is Florentine #1.

Florentine #2 cups have angular handles like the green cup shown. The footed pieces have smooth, round feet and plates are smooth and don't have a separate flat rim. I've found the #2 shapes are less prone to nicks.

Of course you can combine the two Florentine patterns. This table setting uses Florentine #1 cups with Florentine 2 plates and bowls. The combination looks great, and you can combine different colors which blend well.

Maker: FederalDate Produced: 1931 to 1936 Colors: Green with some amber and clear.

Georgian Lovebirds is one of my favorite patterns. We specialize in Georgian Lovebirds and have a super selection for you to shop. You can set a lovely table with Georgian. This first tablescape combines Georgian that are easy to find, like the plates with Thumbprint tumblers and basic green sherbets. I like to use less expensive common glass, like the sherbets, with the more costly depression pattern glass. Nice, yes.

This next tablescape combines Georgian with blue Aurora and Moderntone depression glass from Hazel Atlas. I love the blue and green together. It is pure summertime bliss.

Federal Georgian has rims with alternating medallions of birds and baskets that are connected by swags and big medallions in the centers. The tumblers only have baskets and you can find dinner plates that have no birds or baskets!

Jeannette's Holiday is not truly depression glass since it was made in the 1940s but it slips in based on the colors and the style. It's a molded design with lots of surface texture. The pink is a lovely clear color.

Maker: Hocking GlassDate Produced: 1931 to 1937Colors: Mostly pink, green, blue and yellow with many more pieces in pink than any other color. While Hocking made over half the pieces in yellow it is scarce.

We specialize in Mayfair here and have several pieces in pink and green for you to choose from. I like to combine Mayfair with other glass.

This tablescape is all pink, combining pink Sharon and pink Mayfair. Both patterns have roses; think of this as your pink roses table.

This next table is one of my favorites, with Cameo yellow, Mayfair green, Miss America pink and Tiffin crystal.

If you like blue glass, then consider Moderntone. It is one of the most available patterns and Hazel Atlas made a ton of pieces. Having so many to choose from makes it fun to collect Moderntone. It is also less expensive than many other blue patterns, always a welcome point.

Maker: Federal GlassDate Produced: 1933 to 1940 Colors: Amber, pink, iridescent and a few pieces in clear and green.

I've a soft spot for Normandie because the first piece of depression glass I bought was a Normandie dinner plate. You can find the iridescent quite often. If you enjoy the iridescent then be sure to check for wear.

Maker: Indiana GlassDate Produced: 1933 to 1940 Colors: Green and yellow with some pink and clear.

Poor Horseshoe. Indiana Glass didn't give this pretty pattern a name; they just called it number. The name Horseshoe is perfect given the motif. Horseshoe isn't as easy to find as some depression glass patterns so be sure to see our listings.

Royal Lace plates have rims with sharply defined inner edges. These can get small nicks and rough spots so be sure to check for inner rim roughness.

You have many pieces to choose among, including a full dinnerware set, several tumblers, pitchers, candle holders and accessory pieces. Royal Lace is one of the more expensive depression glass patterns. You can control your costs by blending colors and picking the pieces you want. For example, there are two candle holders, the one shown below and another with a rolled rim that is more costly.

Maker: Federal GlassDate Produced: 1935 to 1939Colors: Amber, pink, green and a few pieces of clear.

If Sharon is your favorite then you are in good company. It is one of the most popular and sought after patterns.

Sharon has been reproduced but you will have no trouble spotting fakes. The green and blue are simply wrong colors. The cheese dish, candy jar, shakers creamer and sugar are the only pieces said to be reproduced and they just look wrong. The candy jar shown is the real depression glass. If you decide to collect Sharon protect yourself by learning the tell-tale signs to distinguish real from reproductions.

I love Sharon and will be glad to help you find just the right piece for yourself or a gift..

Swirl is a neat pattern that looks plain until you see a few pieces together. Then it pops. The ultramarine is especially pretty. You can combine the ultramarine and pink together for a spectacular table.

Maker: Jeannette GlassDate Produced: 1936 to 1946Colors: Clear, pink and green. There were a few pieces in other colors.

Jeannette made a gazillion pieces in Windsor, especially in clear. The pink is especially pretty.

I hope you enjoyed reading about depression glass. There are other patterns plus a whole world of elegant glass, from Fostoria, Cambridge, Tiffin and others. We'll show lots of different glass in our newsletter that comes out every two weeks. You can sign up here.